How much shrink when selling calves?

[crimsoncrazy]

Say you haul them in 7-8 pm and they run across the scales and into the ring 10 am the next morning? Would you expect much shrink? Would it be worth feeding them 3 or 4 pounds a head before taking them in?

 

[jerry27150]

mine lose about 50 lbs if I do that

 

[jerry27150]

if they let you, take some of your own hay & some grain to feed them

 

[crimsoncrazy]

It's only a 15 miles ride. The really lose 50 lbs in 13 hours?

 

[Jessica06]

We've had ours lose anywhere from 4 to about 15%, hauling them in the day of the sale.

 

[JWGrant]

I read somewhere they lose most of it in the first few hours of handling and hauling and the handling and weaning had a lot to do with it along with weather.

 

[bird dog]

If weighed as soon as they come out of the pasture and are not weaned, they will lose between 5 and 10% with the average around 8 so yes a 600 lb animal will easily drop 50 lbs. . An occasional one will go more than that as mentioned, some may go a little less. Hot weather will make it worse. Now if they are weaned and the barn feeds them something decent and they have clean water, it could be much less even zero but usually 3 or 4%.
If you feed them before they leave, most of that will be in the bottom of the trailer. Its the stress of handling and new surroundings that really effects them if they are not weaned.

 

[crimsoncrazy]

I'm talking about calves that have been running on wheat pasture. Been weaned since November 1.

 

[randiliana]

Presort sales up here take a 0-4% 'pencil' shrink on fresh weaned calves depending on the distance hauled, and a 4% shrink on yearling cattle.

Here is a really good article about shrink
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department ... /beef11854

Here's a good study on shrink
http://pas.fass.org/content/17/4/247.full.pdf

 

[wacocowboy]

From the looks of my trailer mine lose a crap load.

 

[TexasBred]

I'm talking about calves that have been running on wheat pasture. Been weaned since November 1.

When you pull up at the sale barn just step back and watch all that "weight" aka manure running through the cracks in the floor of the trailer. NO telling how much wheat pasture lose.